TWO BABY BEARS RESCUED AT CASCADE VACATION RENTALSThe text came in at 7:31 AM.“I just went to dumpster and both bars were on it and when I opened it the bear was sitting in the dumpster!! I wonder how that is even possible with it being barred shut?!? I ran off with my trash but didn’t put the bars back on or look to see if the bear jumped out.”Bara, a Cascade Vacation Rentals housekeeper, got quite the startle when going to dispose of her garbage in the CVR campus dumpster early Wednesday morning. By the time the rest of the Cascade Vacation Rentals crew arrived at their Lutsen office, the bear that Bara had spotted had indeed escaped from the dumpster and into a nearby tree. Owner Steve Surbaugh thought it was odd that the bear was lingering so he decided to investigate the situation further. Inside of the dumpster he discovered the reason why the bear was hanging around the area- two baby bears, too small to make the escape by themselves.With the help of employees Andrew Beavers and Mike “Chili” Groth, a plan was hatched to fashion a ladder out of a broken futon frame, and place that inside of the dumpster on one end, then try to encourage the babies out of the other. The plan worked! Within minutes the two babies were reunited with their mother in the tree. Luckily for everyone, employees Sarah Somnis and Sarena Nelson were there to capture the daring escape on camera.None of the bears were harmed and shortly after the rescue all three bears descended from the tree and ran off into the nearby woods. The staff is investigating how the bears managed to get into the dumpsters with the bear bars securely attached. For now, the dumpster is safe and bear-free!

Cascade Vacation Rentals posted on Facebook that the bears were “rescued” although it appears they weren’t terribly worried about their predicament, what with all that lovely trash to investigate.

The text came in at 7:31 a.m.

“I just went to dumpster and both bars were on it and when I opened it the bear was sitting in the dumpster!! I wonder how that is even possible with it being barred shut?!? I ran off with my trash but didn’t put the bars back on or look to see if the bear jumped out.”

Bara, a Cascade Vacation Rentals housekeeper, got quite the startle when going to dispose of her garbage in the CVR campus dumpster early Wednesday morning. By the time the rest of the Cascade Vacation Rentals crew arrived at their Lutsen office, the bear that Bara had spotted had indeed escaped from the dumpster and into a nearby tree.

Owner Steve Surbaugh thought it was odd that the bear was lingering so he decided to investigate the situation further. Inside of the dumpster he discovered the reason why the bear was hanging around the area- two baby bears, too small to make the escape by themselves.

With the help of employees Andrew Beavers and Mike “Chili” Groth, a plan was hatched to fashion a ladder out of a broken futon frame, and place that inside of the dumpster on one end, then try to encourage the babies out of the other.

The plan worked! Within minutes the two babies were reunited with their mother in the tree. Luckily for everyone, employees Sarah Somnis and Sarena Nelson were there to capture the daring escape on camera.

None of the bears were harmed and shortly after the rescue all three bears descended from the tree and ran off into the nearby woods. The staff is investigating how the bears managed to get into the dumpsters with the bear bars securely attached. For now, the dumpster is safe and bear-free!

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started the two most popular blogs in the history of MPR and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories but reflections , observations, and debate.